A Fight From The Shadows
by Riku Courtier
Summary: After the events of Unwound Future, London should've been in a state of security. Of peace. But, what if I told you it wasn't? What if I told you that the horrors they saw on that fateful day were only the beginning? And, what if I told you it was all because of the Professor? Genius is one of the many forms of insanity or is it the other way around? Evil! Layton Story!
1. Angels

"Flora, this way!" Luke cried, dragging her around another corner, the Family hot on their heels. They'd just escaped from the Towering Pagoda, their clothes having become tattered in the process. The brainwashing that their former mentor had used had finally wore off and they knew that, if they didn't leave then, they would never be able to.

Unfortunately, Layton had managed to find out of their escape and had sent his men after them, not wanting them to make it to the Resistance. Which was why they were running through the half destroyed London in front of them. They didn't know where to go from the tower, they just knew they had to get away.

"Luke..." Flora panted out, stumbling a little bit as they turned into an alley, the footsteps echoing behind them. "I don't know how much farther I can go..."

Suddenly, she collapsed, Luke losing his balance as she fell. Luke tried to help the girl up, but she was too heavy for him to support, her weight causing him to fall to his knees beside her. He knew he couldn't give up though. The Family would surely catch them if he did. But when he tried to help her again, she pushed him away. "No, Luke. Don't worry about me. Just go!"

Luke looked back at her, tears in his eyes. He couldn't lose Flora. Not now. "But...Flora..."

"_Go_!" She shouted, using the last of her strength to push him away again. "We can't let them catch us both. If they do...we'll _never_ have our freedom."

"Flora..." Luke whispered, tears now streaming down his face. "But..."

They could both hear the footsteps getting closer, knowing the Family would be on them in seconds. Luke grimaced before kneeling down and pulling Flora into a small kiss. "Flora, I promise you, I'll come for you. I _won't_ let Layton keep you captive in there."

With that, Luke pivoted around and ran just as the Family made it to the alley. A few of them still chased after Luke, but most of them surrounded Flora, two of them jerking her up rather forcibly by her arms. She couldn't resist though. She was out of any energy reserves she may have had.

The men that surrounded her soon parted, revealing him. Hershel Layton himself. His black coat billowed out behind him as he stepped forward, twirling his cane in the air. His monocle gleamed in the moonlight, his steps stopping mere inches from Flora, who was shaking in fear and exhaustion. Layton's eyes flashed angrily as he brought his gloved hand across Flora's face, the slap leaving a red hand mark on her cheek.

"You shouldn't have left, Flora. You had everything with me. Power, money, and all of London at your feet. So, why did you run?"

She mumbled out an answer, her voice not even audible in the silence. Another slap to her face, the red mark getting darker. Tears were flowing from her eyes now, not only from the pain, but from sheer terror as well. She only looked down though, her fearful eyes not wanting to meet his malevolent ones. "_Why did you run, Flora?_ _!_" Layton yelled, grabbing her chin and pulling it up to face his.

"Because you don't own me! You don't own this city! You don't deserve to!" Flora yelled back at him, anger causing her to start resisting her captors.

Layton glared at her before he chuckled, the chuckles soon turning to a loud, uproarious guffaw, his laughter echoing throughout the empty streets of the dead city.

Flora stopped fighting, confusion coming across her. Why was he laughing? He'd been angry only moments ago...so why...?

"Oh, my little Golden Apple, you don't understand. You _do_ belong to me. All of London belongs to me and there is no one who can say otherwise." he purred out, his hand stroking her face.

She jerked away from his touch though, a hardened glare looking back at him."You're wrong! The Resistance will stop you! I know they will!"

He chuckled again. "The Resistance can't stop me. _No_ one can." He took his gaze from Flora, now facing the men who held her tightly. "Take her back to the tower. There's still one little mouse that I need to go capture."

The men nodded, pulling a now-struggling Flora away, her yells echoing out long after they'd disappeared into the night.

Layton's mouth shifted into a malicious grin as he continued forward. "You're next, my apprentice._ You're next_."

* * *

"Augh!"

Crash!

"Ooh..."

Luke groaned as he shakily pushed himself up, his legs and hands bloody from his fall to the shattered glass that littered the street he fallen to. He didn't know exactly where he was, the streets having gone unfamiliar when he'd made it out of Chinatown. But, wherever he was, he knew he couldn't stay there. They would surely find him if he did.

He struggled to keep himself going, but his adrenaline was fading fast. He staggered forward a few steps before he fell to his hands and knees, his blood smearing the street a dark red. "I...I can't...I can't go any farther..." He clenched his hands, tears falling to the gravel in small droplets. "I'm sorry, Flora...I failed you..."

"Oi! There he is!" The Family. They'd found him. It was only moments before he felt them lifting him to his feet and binding his hands behind him. He immediately knew this was a bad sign.

Dark laughter. "There you are, my dear apprentice. Where did you think you were going?" Layton stepped forward from the shadows of a nearby abandoned store. "Did you really think you could escape me?"

Luke sneered. "I actually thought I could. Why? Does this make you angry, _master_?" He asked sardonically. "Because I would just hate to do that,_ master_."

Layton growled before he pulled his black and bloodied rapier out from beneath his coat. He slowly stepped forward, enjoying every moment of Luke's fear. He fed off of it as he moved closer and closer, putting the end of the blade to Luke's neck. He grinned psychotically, tilting his head slightly to the right. "Yes, you would, wouldn't you? Of course, now you aren't being very cooperative, Luke. It's a pity really. There was so much potential in you."

Luke's eyes widened, his fear driving his movements as he tried to pull away from the evil professor. "No...no! Help! Somebody! _HELP_!"

Right as Layton was about to slash Luke's neck, a small, round ball rolled out in front of him. He stood confused for a minute, but growled when it exploded, smothering the entire area in a thick smoke. Layton coughed, his eyes darting left and right, trying to find the source of the attack.

Within the smoke, the men who had been holding onto Luke let go as they started to cough uncontrollably as well. Luke would've taken this as his chance to run, but he too was having a hard time breathing, the smoke becoming too much for his lungs to handle. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was two strong arms lifting him into the air and running.

When the smoke cleared, Layton became furious as he took in the scene before him. Luke was gone and all that was left was his men, who were still coughing madly, and a gold puzzle piece, the sign of the Resistance.

He clenched his teeth in anger as a loud growl escaped him and, gripping his rapier, slashed the throats of the gang members in front of him, his anger being released in his actions. Their bodies fell to the ground, each thud making the grimace on Layton's face larger. The Resistance was going to pay dearly for this. _He would make sure of it._

* * *

"Luke..._Luke_! Wake up!" A strong, yet smooth voice yelled out, shaking the small boy in his arms.

The black and red-clad boy groaned before opening his eyes. Where was he? He could hear the sound of rushing water nearby. Was he near the Thames river? He wasn't sure, but he did know that there was dirt beneath him, not gravel like before. That, and he was in someone's arms. But, he just couldn't tell who. The owner of the arms' voice though broke him from these thoughts.

"Luke! Oh, thank _goodness_ you're alright!" The voice breathed out, a sigh of relief barely being heard.

The young boy blinked his eyes, trying to get his eyesight to not be so blurry. When his eyesight cleared up a little, he could make out a tall person in front of him, clad in blue. But, his vision was still too blurry to make out who it was. "Who...who are you?" he asked softly.

"You mean...you don't remember me? It's me, Clive." At the mention of the other person's name, Luke jumped back a little. He didn't know anyone by that name. At least, he didn't think so..._did he_?

Clive. That name did sound familiar, but Luke wasn't too sure why. When the brainwashing had taken place, a lot of his memory had been lost. But, now that he thought on the name, a few, scattered memories started to come back to him. Memories of a young man who looked almost like his twin, an older version of him. That's when it snapped into place.

"Clive? Oh my goodness,_ Clive_!" Luke cried out as he jumped at him, wrapping his arms around the older teen's waist. "I missed you..."

Clive wrapped his arms around Luke too, returning the hug. "It's good to see you're alright, Little Luke. We were wondering how long it was going to take you to break free of the mind control Layton put you under."

Luke's eyes widened as he remembered something else, pulling away from Clive's embrace urgently as his eyes went wild. "Oh gosh, Flora! I...I completely forgot! Clive, they...they have Flora!"

Clive's eyes widened at this news before he cursed under his breath. This wasn't good. Not at all. He had wanted them both safe. Hadn't Lando said he was going to get Flora while he had gotten Luke? He growled in his frustration. What could've caused Lando not to be able to get to Flora? Had he been held up or...had he...Clive shook his head. 'No, I can't think about that now. Lando can take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine. But, I am definitely giving him a strict talking to when I get back to the base.'

Luke looked on in worry, his hand reaching out for Clive's coat before he could even stop himself. "Clive...are you alright?"

Clive looked back down at Luke and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Come on, let's get out of here while we've still got the cover of night as our guard." He took the boy up onto his back, carrying him in an unknown direction to Luke. It was silent between the two for a few moments, but Clive broke it just as Luke was starting to grow accustomed to it.

"But, in response to Flora having been taken, that's really not good. We were hoping that both you _and_ Flora would be able to escape. But...now...well, we'll explain everything to you later."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "Clive, you keep saying 'we'. Just who else are you referring to?"

Clive smirked as he lifted his head up to his younger look alike. "Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm a member of the Resistance."

Luke's breath hitched. "You...you are?"

"Mmmhmm." Clive nodded. "We've been keeping a close eye on you and Flora for a long time, Luke. We knew that if we had any chance of taking Layton down, we'd need you two on our side. But, we knew it was not possible with the mind control in your system. So, we had to play the waiting game until it wore off. Which, by the way, I'm sorry it took me so long to get there to you."

Luke shook his head. "No, I'm just glad you made it there when you did. If you hadn't...I'm _sure_ he would've killed me."

Clive closed his eyes at this, deep in thought. "He must've been pretty confident in his control over London if he was going to kill you." Clive looked to Luke again. "You're one of the few people who has the right knowledge to take him down, Luke. Do you know that?"

"Well, I do now."

Clive chuckled softly, his chuckle much more kind and soothing compared to Layton's. "Well, will you join us then? We need you, Luke. And you'll be much safer with us then with _him_."

Luke didn't even hesitate. "You know I will. When the mind control wore off, I realized just how crazy the Professor had gotten. I...I don't even know what caused him to become like this...do you, Clive?"

Clive sighed, his eyes turning to the ground as he continued walking, a small living district starting to show up on the horizon. "I do, Luke. And, let me tell you something. This story is not a good one. In fact, it's horrifying...are you _sure_ you want to hear it?"

Luke clenched his eyes shut before nodding slowly. "I need to know, Clive...if I wish to bring the old Professor Layton we know back, then I need to know..." he whispered.

Clive finally stopped, setting Luke down inside of an old building that used to be a library, dust and cobwebs lining the old bookcases which spread for, what looked like, miles. "The remains of The London Library..." Clive mused sadly. He shook his head though, his expression going firm. "We'll rest here for the night. Once the sun starts to rise, we'll make our way to the Resistance's base."

Luke looked around him an a melancholy awe. He remembered when this place used to be a place of learning, a place of peace and comfort. It was so sad to see it in the shape it was in now. When Luke looked back to where Clive had been, he saw that his friend had already moved towards one of the bookcases and was sitting against it.

Luke meandered over to him, his back sliding down the bookcase as he sat down next to the tired teen. "So..." he started nervously. "Could you tell me the story?" Clive turned his head slightly, his eyes taking in the poor boy beside him. He let out another sigh before finally relenting.

"It started like this..."

* * *

**RML: Okay, I know I've already got one Professor Layton story going, but this was was just nagging at the back of my mind and it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. And...it probably wasn't helping that I was looking at A LOT of Evil! Professor Layton fanart. XD But, that's besides the point. The point is, is that I hope you guys like it and that it didn't come out confusing or anything. **

**Clive: *caustiously opens door to room* Okay, I need to ask. Am I allowed in here for this story? **

**RML: *smiles* Of course! You're in the first chapter, genius. You're going to play a major part in this one.**

**Clive: *smirks and crosses arms as he steps in* What, and I'm not playing a major part in the other?**

**RML: *sighs* Yes, but you aren't coming in for a few more chapters in that one. Which, btw, this story and A Future Lost, But Not Forgotten are in no way related. In fact, for those of you who don't like OCs, rejoice. Because there aren't any in this one. **

**Clive: *raises eyebrow* There aren't?**

**RML: No. I'm mostly working with characters that I barely know about, so that's going to be a challenge in itself. **

**Clive: *nods* Alright then. I'm just surprised. All of your stories involve OCs at some point or another.**

**RML: *rolls eyes* Yeah, but not this one. It's going to be hard enough working with the *spoilers* that I won't have the time to include any OCs. Unless it's just a random citizen of London or something. :P **

**Clive: Well, I guess since we've got that out of the way, I just have one thing to say! Read and Review guys! And look for the next chapter HOPEFULLY sometime next week!**

**RML: *sweatdrops* You've just been waiting to say that, haven't you?**

**Clive: *rubs back of head sheepishly* Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. **

**RML: *shakes head and sighs* **

**Clive: Oh! And one more thing! RML doesn't own anything. Except for this story. Not the characters or anything.**

**[Edit 6/27/2012: When I posted this, I didn't realize the italics didn't stay in and that the line breaks didn't show up, so I came in and fixed it. Should be just fine now. Also noticed a line that Layton said that decided to auto-fix (**** Auto-fix! : ( ) But, yeah, it's fixed now. :) Just wanted to let ya'll know. ]**


	2. Our Solemn Hour

**LONG CHAPTER IS LONG. Please Enjoy!**

* * *

"The beginning of this terrible tragedy takes place right after Claire had to leave. Of course, I wasn't there at the time, but we still managed to find out what we needed to about the situation through this."

Clive pulled out a small, withered journal from his jacket pocket, the Professor's emblem on the cover. Luke recognised it very well. The Professor would always write in it after their adventures. He had no doubt in his mind that he had been recording a memoir of the events that took place. It had been some time ago when he'd last seen the Professor writing in it. At least from what he could remember.

Luke's memory was starting to come back a bit faster now, the mind control having been out of his body long enough for them to be able to resurface. It wouldn't be too long now when Luke would be able to remember more of the important things instead of just the little things like the notebook and Clive's identity.

"Anyway," Clive continued. "After Claire left, the Professor went into a deep depression. It hurt him so much, having to see his love leave to her death again. It got to the point where he couldn't stand it and he...he tried to kill himself. He was lucky that you and Flora were there at the flat and not at school when he did, because you managed to call an ambulance in time."

Luke's eyes widened fearfully. The Professor had really tried to do that? He just couldn't imagine the stoic mentor he'd grown to admire trying to end his own life. "Wha...what happened after that?"

Clive's gaze hardened, his eyes staring at the floor. "This was when things really started to get ugly. His attempted suicide awakened something inside him. Something that started to slowly drive him mad. He would get more aggressive and less understanding the longer it went on. And then, the moment of truth happened. The day you were supposed to leave.

"As the two of you waited at the docks, the inner voices that had been pushing him to his limit were speaking to him, telling him that if he lost you, he'd lose everything. And, that's when he did it. Right when you were going to get on the ship, he grabbed you, threw you into the Laytonmobile and drove back to his flat."

Luke started to shake almost uncontrollably at this. "He...he'd kidnapped me?" He whispered softly.

Clive only nodded in confirmation. "From what we could gather from his writings, we assume he hid you in the basement while the search for you was going on. The inner voices were starting to take over him, controlling his actions. The moments when you would cry out for help, he'd beat you, keeping you quiet. He truly was going insane and what he did next only proved that even more.

"So consumed by his ever-growing madness, he started to devise a plan. A plan much like what I had put together as the fake story for my future London. He decided to make that future a reality, but he knew he'd need help. The first thing he did was break Dimitri out of prison. He asked for his help in concocting a type of serum that would keep you, Flora, and anyone else he pleased under his control.

"Of course, the first thing they would need was the funds to do just that. So, the Professor made his way to St. Mystere. He pushed his way through the town until he reached the mansion and that's when he took the fortune of the Reinhold family for his own."

"But, the Professor had promised that he wouldn't take it! He knew that if he did...the citizens of St. Mystere..." Luke protested angrily.

"Would cease to exist." Clive said, finishing Luke's sentence. "He knew, but he didn't care. So, with the fortune in his hands and the citizens of St. Mystere out of the picture, the Professor moved on to higher places. He cut down everyone who was in his way, starting with the Prime Minister."

"Bill Hawks...right? Wasn't he the one responsible for Claire's death?"

"And for the death of my parents, yes. Layton took his revenge on Bill Hawks for this and killed him in the dead of night. It was his first real kill and it wouldn't be his last. With the city now in chaos over the loss of their Prime Minister, Layton rose up to the occasion, taking the Prime Minister's place and instilling the serum that Dimitri had created to every citizen. The ones that didn't obey met an untimely death and only a few of us survived.

"This was around the time that I got out of jail. Not on the government's terms though, but on Layton's. Though, I guess at that moment, he was the government. I could see his growing madness when his men had brought me in to see him. It was much like my own when I was trying to get my revenge. I tried to talk him out of it, tried to bring him back from the brink of insanity like he had done for me. But, he didn't listen. Instead, he tried to kill me. I still have the scar from where he'd stabbed me at." Clive subconsciously rubbed his right side, his hand tracing up and down.

Luke frowned at this. "Was that where he stabbed you at?" Clive nodded grimly. Luke reached out his hand, but stopped himself. "May I...?"

"Sure." With that, Clive lifted his vest and shirt up, revealing a long, jagged scar that started from below his chest to above his hip. "The only reason I'm still alive is because of Inspector Chelmey." Clive said, pulling his tops back down.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "The Inspector helped you? I have to say, I'm a bit surprised."

Clive closed his eyes, the memories of that day resurfacing. "I was surprised too. I thought that Chelmey of all people would be one of the ones who wanted me dead. But...instead, him and Barton ran in and pulled me out of the room Layton and I had been talking in at the precinct. They pulled me into the Inspector's car and Chelmey drove while Barton started to bandage me up. Apparently, I hadn't been the only one who'd saw through the Professor's madness.

"They led me to a small building outside of the main part of London, one of the only parts not under Layton's control. That's when they told me they were part of a small group of people who were leading a Resistance against the Professor and his ever-growing rule. They asked me to join and I eagerly did. But, despite our efforts, things only got worse from there. His reign spread over all across London, and, soon, most of the inhabitants were either left for dead or were with us. Layton had become ruthless, his reign spreading even to outside of London. Out of the whole of England, there were only three cities he went to personally to take out. Dropstone, Montdol, and Misthallery."

Those three cities...Luke felt a familiar feeling inside of him when he heard those names. Him and the Professor had gone to those cities before and, if he remembered correctly, one of them was the one where he'd been raised at for a major part of his life. "What happened to the people who lived there, Clive?" Luke asked, his eyes shadowing over. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he heard.

"Most of the citizens of each of those towns were killed, only a few able to escape from each. One group from Misthallery, called the Black Ravens..."

* * *

_"Crow!" Badger cried out from his position on the roof. "They're on their way here!"_

_Crow's eyes widened. They were already heading towards the market? They'd just barely went into the main part of Misthallery, the army having gone over the main bridge first. Smoke had shortly shown up into the sky. That'd been the moment he'd told Badger to keep watch from the rooftops. He swore to himself that if they came to the market, him and the rest of the Black Ravens would defend it until the end. The emergency signal from Arianna and Tony came from their home, but they hadn't seen or heard anything from them since. Crow feared the worst. He could only hope they'd escaped safely._

_Badger jumped down in front of him, causing Crow to be snapped out of his reverie. "What are we going to do, Crow? We run or fight. It's your call."_

_Crow's eyes narrowed. "We fight. Gather the others at the crossroads. And make sure that Louis brings the Black Raven disguises."_

_"Right!" Badger nodded and took off, leaving Crow alone at the entrance to the market. Tightening his scarf, Crow ran out of the entrance to where Aunt Taffy stood with her candy cart. "Aunt Taffy, you need to escape from here! I have no doubt in my mind that this will turn into a bloodbath."_

_But Aunt Taffy only shook her head stubbornly. "Oh no, Crow. They aren't going to drive me away that easily." She pulled out a shotgun from the bottom compartment of her cart._

_Crow's eyebrow raised before he smirked. "I shouldn't have expected anything less from you, Aunt Taffy."_

_The old lady just hardened her gaze and turned her back to Crow, motioning for him to go back into the Market. "You kids just hurry and get yourselves ready. I'll hold them back as long as I can for you."_

_Crow smiled slightly. "Thanks, Aunt Taffy. Good luck..." Crow knew he wasn't going to see the stubborn, yet kind old lady again, so he quickly gave her a hug before running back into the Market, heading towards the crossroads._

_The whole gang was gathered together, all of them already dressed into their Black Raven disguises. Scraps pulled his mask up, revealing his bespectacled face for the others to see. You could see the fear in his eyes behind his semi-fogged up glasses. "Crow...I made sure to put our packs near the entrance to the base. If the need to run comes, we can grab them from there."_

_Crow nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Scraps. That actually brings me to what I was about to say to all of you."_

_Curiously, the others lifted their masks as well, revealing fear in all of their eyes or, at least in all the eyes that were visible. Badger's eyes were too covered up by his hair to really tell, but you could tell by the way his cloak was shaking slightly that he was just as afraid as everyone else. "_

_Yes, Crow?" Tweeds asked softly, his stomach protruding somewhat from the long cloak._

_"Everyone, I know we said that we would protect our market, our home from these intruders. From what I've heard, the leader of this army is an old friend of ours. The word from London is is that Hershel Layton has taken over and has gone completely mad."_

_"Crow, just get on with it. We already know this! Marilyn told us this earlier this morning." Nabby snapped._

_Crow sighed, taking his hat off for a second and running his hand through his hair. "I know. I just want to tell you all that, if things start to look bleak, you run." He was looking into everyone's eyes now, going from Wren's clever ones to Socket's goggled ones to Marilyn's motherly ones. "Your lives are worth more than anything in this market and, if any of you ended up dead, I would never be able to forgive myself. So, please, I beg of you all, stay safe."_

_A chorus of soft Okays filled the air before Crow put his hand in the middle of the circle the friends had formed. Everyone else's cloaked hands smothered his in the raven black fabric as he addressed them again. "You all know where to go if things turn sour. We've gone over this plan and we've gone over the escape routes. Do whatever it takes to stay alive."_

_In the distance, the first gunshot rang out, signalling the arrival of their enemies. At the sound, the younger members of the group jumped, but held their ground. Crow broke from the hand pile, the others doing the same as he slipped into his Black Raven costume, the mask settling over his face._

_"Black Ravens...Go!" Crow cried out as the army started to sweep through the streets towards them. The nine of them ran forward, brandishing whatever weapons they had on their person as the groups collided, blood starting to pour out onto the dirtied streets of the market._

_Fires started to break out around Crow as he fought off a few of the men, running back and forth around them, trying to confuse them before slashing at them with the knives he'd hidden in his cloak. But, the more he managed to take down, the more seemed to rush in, leaving him swamped. And the smoke was becoming too dark for him to really be able to see. He finally decided to pull back, leaving the men confused in the smoke._

_Crow leapt up from the ground, grabbing a hold of a pole before pulling himself effortlessly up onto the rooftops. There were men up here as well, but, thankfully, not as many. From his position, he could see that the fires were spreading rapidly, the buildings becoming weak. Badger and himself were going to have a hard time keeping themselves steady up here if it got any worse. Unfortunately, fate decided for that to be the moment when things truly _did_ get worse._

_A loud whirring sound could be heard above the sounds of the fighting and Crow turned his head to the sky, spotting a large machine flying above them. Suddenly, projectiles started to fall, exploding around him. Crow started to panic as he took to running and jumping across the rooftops, his voice calling out for a retreat, but the explosions drowned it out. He knew they didn't stand a chance at this point. And that's when he heard the gunshot, followed by a scream._

_Crow gasped, almost losing his footing before steadying himself. That had been Socket! He followed the direction the scream had come from and arrived at a back alley to see Socket, his mask cracked and revealing part of his face, a small pool of blood forming beneath him. Some of Layton's goons were slowly approaching Socket, bloodlust in their eyes, one of them with a still-smoking gun in their hands._

_Crow's eyes filled with fury and he jumped down in front of his friend, his knives ready. He quickly ran at the men, his knives meeting their necks, blood spewing out. Once the teen was sure they were dead, he turned back to Socket, who was gasping, holding onto his stomach. His eyes were clenched shut in pain._

_Crow lifted his mask up a little bit as he shook Socket's shoulder. "Socket...come on, Socket. Don't do this to me..."_

_Another person ran into the alley and Crow turned, tense and ready to stab whoever it was, but relaxed when he saw it was one of the Ravens. "I heard a yell! What happened?" When the Black Raven's member saw Socket lying on the ground, she lifted up her mask, Wren's face underneath. "Oh my God! Socket!"_

_"Wren, grab Socket and get out of here! Go grab you and your brother's packs. Grab Marilyn's as well. The First Aid kit is in her bag. Hurry! Go!" Crow exclaimed, pushing past her and running back out into the fray. He had to declare a retreat. They couldn't stay out there any longer, it was too dangerous to. As he ran, all he could see around him was chaos. Fires, smoke, blood, and wreckage from the explosions, which were still sounding off every which way._

_He eventually made it, the emergency bell that he'd had put in after Descole had tried to destroy the town. They'd never had to use it before, but, now...He shook his head and jumped up, grabbing onto the bell's rope and pulling it down, sending it ringing throughout the entire market._

_Every Black Raven's member from all across the market tuned their hearing to that bell, breaking from any fight they may had been in and running away into the shadows, heading towards the entrance to their underground base. Crow met them there, each one of them grabbing a bag or two and running for the secret exit out of their home. Unknown to them, one person followed them silently as they made their escape._

_They ran as a group for an unknown period of time before they finally stopped, Misthallery and the market being torn from the seams beneath the hill they all rested briefly on. They were by a forest that led away from the town, their meeting place just a little ways in. As each member of the Ravens slowly walked in, Crow turned back one last time, giving a silent goodbye to his old home._

_Once they made it into the clearing which they had deemed their meeting place, they stripped off their costumes and masks, stuffing them into their packs. Well, most of them did._

_"Wait a minute...this isn't my pack. This is the food supply pack! Where's mine?" Marilyn cried, almost in a panic._

_Crow walked over to her and put an hand on her shoulder, calming her. "Mari, relax. I told Wren to grab it when she and Socket escaped."_

_"Speaking of the twins, where are they? Weren't they with us?" Louis asked worriedly, adjusting his glasses as he zipped his bag back up._

_Scraps put his hand to his chin, rubbing it as he was thinking. "You know, I don't even think they were with us when we escaped." He turned his attention to their leader. "Crow, do you know where they are?"_

_Crow shook his head. "At the moment, no. The last I saw of them, I had told Wren to take Socket and get out of there. Socket had been shot during the attack."_

_Gasps sounded throughout the clearing. Everyone glanced at each other, shocked looks on all of their faces. Marilyn jumped up in panic, a wild look in her eyes, her red bandana on her head all askew. "Then...then we should go look for them! If Socket is injured, they might've had to slow down. They could be in danger of getting caught!" Marilyn said frantically, already moving to go search the area._

_"There's no need for that, Mari. We're here." Wren poked her head out from behind the brush, her Raven costume already taken off. Socket was leaning against her shoulder, unconscious,his disguise off as well. Wren slowly pulled her and Socket into the clearing before falling to her knees in exhaustion, the three packs on her back falling to the side of her._

_Louis, Scraps, and Tweeds rushed to their sides, Tweeds taking Socket into his arms while Louis and Scraps helped keep Wren steady as they walked her to a turned over log. Marilyn quickly ran over and took her pack from where it had fallen, opening it and taking out a blanket, her jacket, and their first aid kit. She set the blanket down onto the ground, motioning for Tweeds to set Socket down as she rolled her jacket up and set it under the young man's head._

_Crow had to look away and sit down as Marilyn started to strip Socket's bloodied shirt off, revealing a gunshot wound on the left side of his stomach, blood pouring out. He couldn't stand it. He told them to stay safe. He swore to himself he'd protect them and look what happened. Socket had gotten shot, the market was destroyed, and they were the only ones left._

_Badger came over and sat next to Crow, wrapping his arm around Crow's shoulder in an act of comfort. "Crow, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for this."_

_Crow shook his head as tears pricked his eyes. "Badger...how can I not? I'm the leader of the Black Ravens. It's my responsibility to keep you all safe and I failed."_

_Wren wearily lifted her head up to face Crow. "But you did keep him safe, Crow. He told me as we were running. You protected him after he'd gotten hurt." She put her hand on the shoulder that didn't have Badger's arm on it. "You did all you could."_

_Crow groaned, putting his head in his hands, and nodded. "I know, Wren. But still...what if next time I'm _not_ able to get there in time? What if next time I lose one of you or even all of you? What would I do? I...I don't think I'd be able to live with that..."_

_"Crow!"_

_He lifted his head, only to feel a hand fly across his cheek painfully. Crow looked at Nabby, who had been the one that'd slapped him. The brown-clad teen was glaring fiercely at him, making Crow cringe._

_"Knock this off! You aren't helping anybody doing this! You're only hurting yourself! So, just stop!" Nabby yelled. _

_"Nabby..." _

_"You aren't the only one who's upset, Crow! You're aren't the only one who's scared! But, you're the one who needs to stay strong!" Nabby started panting as he finished his shouting, his voice now going to a quiet whisper. "If you don't stay strong...how are we going to be able to?"_

_Crow's eyes widened. Nabby was right. If he didn't stay strong during this time, then who would? He was the leader and it was his duty as such to stay strong and stay calm in times like this. The sixteen year old closed his eyes before opening them again, determination filling his being. He calmly shrugged Badger's arm off of his shoulder and stood up, smiling at Nabby before turning to face everyone._

_"Okay, listen up! We need to set up camp for the night. Badger, Nabby, Tweeds, go gather firewood and be quiet while doing so. I don't know if they followed us here or not, but we can't be too careful." The three of them nodded before running into the woods, their footsteps barely being heard. "Marilyn, keep up the good work with Socket." Marilyn smiled at him before going back to bandaging Socket's wound. "Wren, you just sit here and rest. You've done good."_

_"Thanks, Crow." She said softly, her pounding head in her hands._

_"And, Louis, Scraps, you two help me set up the sleeping areas. Tweeds brought the pack with the extra blankets, right?"_

_Scraps nodded, pulling it out of the pile they'd set their bags in. "Yeah, it's right here."_

_"Alright, good. Now, let's get to work, shall we?" Crow smiled his award-winning smile._

_An hour later and everyone was sitting around a small campfire, eating...well, all except one._

_"Socket still hasn't woken up...are you sure he'll be alright, Mari?" Wren asked nervously._

_"He should be. Thank the good Lord the bullet hadn't pierced through any of his vitals or we would've lost him moments after it hit him. I wasn't able to get the bullet out, but I did what I could to help make it less painful. Hopefully, the bullet will come out on it's own. If it doesn't..." Marilyn didn't need to say anymore, they all knew what she meant. He'd die if it didn't come out soon. Marilyn went back to eating her apple that had been in the food supply pack, her eyes traveling back to the fire. They all soon fell into an unnerving silence._

_Badger pulled the neck of his orange turtleneck up a little higher around his mouth, covering it slightly. It was a really cold night and the fire was barely big enough to keep them all warm. He glanced over at Socket, his blanket having been set up near the fire to help keep him warm as he recovered._

_He was worried for all of their safety just as much as Crow. They were the only family he had. He'd lost his parents the year before in a freak accident and he didn't know if he could go through that again with his friends. He didn't want to lose anyone else. Though, now...they were all each other had. He wasn't sure if anyone else survived the attack on Misthallery. He knew that Arianna and Tony hadn't made it. He saw the fire that claimed their mansion and he could've swore he heard their screams as it burned._

_He had to wonder though...where were they going to go? How were they going to survive out here? And what were they going to do about Socket? If he didn't get proper medical treatment soon...Badger opened his mouth, voicing everyone's thoughts into one question. _

_"__What do we do now?"_

_The question had been quiet, but around the silent camp, it echoed, taunting everyone for everything they'd lost._

_"Well, you can always come with us."_

_Crow, Nabby, and Badger jumped up from their seats, Crow's knives at the ready as Nabby and Badger got into a fighting position. They watched the shadows of the forest, waiting for whoever had spoken to come out, which he soon did._

_A young man who looked to be about nineteen in a blue newsboy cap and blue jacket stepped out from the woods surrounding the small group of survivors. One look at him and the knives in Crow's hands fell, clattering onto the ground._

_"Luke...?"_

_The teenager shook his head though. "No. My name is Clive. I'm a member of the London Resistance. I was sent to find any survivors and make sure they made it back to the Resistance safely."_

_Crow frowned, his eyes narrowing dangerously, the others staying silent and watching the conversation unfold in front of them warily. "And who's to say you're telling the truth? For all we know, you could be trying to lead us right into a trap."_

_Clive only shook his head again. "What other choice do you have?" He nodded his head towards the supplies. "Those supplies will last you three days at the most and, even then, by that time, Layton would have already found you and killed you." Clive's gaze fell onto the blankets where Socket lay. "And, even if he doesn't, you're friend won't last long out here. If you want any chance of survival, I suggest you come with me."_

_Crow thought over this. What if he was telling the truth? He was right about the supplies. They wouldn't last long with what they had and, when they ran out, what would they do? And he was right about Socket. Crow knew that Marilyn could only do so much for him with the limited First Aid kit they had. It wouldn't be enough. Finally, Crow nodded, much to the surprise of his peers._

_"Alright, count us in."_

_Clive smiled._

* * *

"-were among the ones who escaped from there. As far as I know though, everyone else was killed by Layton and his men. After that, the town was destroyed, just like the others, and much like London."

"And...and what of Dropstone and Montdol? Who survived from there?" Luke asked quietly, small tears starting to fall.

"From Dropstone? Only one person. Her name, Katia Anderson."

"What about Anton?" One name had come to Luke's mind after hearing Katia's name, the second name soon bringing back the memories of that adventure that him, the Professor, and Flora had taken all those years ago. Memories of a poor, old man who just wanted to see the one he loved. Memories of a purple-haired girl leaving her home to go find a long-lost family member. Yes, all of those memories were coming back. Clive only shook his head though, making the poor boy's eyes drop to the floor, sadness starting to overcome him greatly.

* * *

_"Katia, my dear granddaughter. Get behind me." Anton said softly, his old joints creaking as he lifted his rapier in front of him. He may've been old, but, in this situation, he had to fight. To protect his dear Katia. Her life was all that mattered to him. He would willingly let his life be ended if it ensured her safety._

_"Grandfather. What are we going to do?" Her soft voice asked fearfully. They had locked the door to their home and were both bracing for impact. The army had shown up not ten minutes ago and, already, half of the poor town was burning to the ground. They could see through the window of the study just how much damage had been done and it scared her. The shrill cries of people and animals alike filled the night sky, the fires clearer than they would've been in the daylight._

_A crashing sound from the front door shook Katia from her thoughts, her body instinctively grabbing for something, anything to protect her and her grandfather with. She knew he wouldn't be able to hold out for long and she knew they'd be getting in..._soon_._

_Anton glanced over as she was searching and he motioned for her to come to him. "My dear, do you see that bookcase over there?"_

_Katia looked around, confused. They were surrounded by bookcases. Anton grabbed her hand though and led her over to one that looked just the same as the others, but, when Anton pulled on one of the books, a secret compartment opened up in the bookshelf, revealing a silver sheath with a purple hilted blade inside, a black belt wrapped onto it. Anton carefully pulled it out, handing it to Katia, who could only look at it in awe. She'd never seen such a beautiful sword before._

_"I had this made for your grandmother...I was going to give it to her on our anniversary, but then she left and I couldn't. So I'd like to give it to you. Take it, Katia. Use it to protect your loved ones, just as I've protected mine." He smiled sadly._

_"Oh...grandfather..." Katia breathed out, her right hand pulling on the hilt, the blade sleekly coming out of its sheath. "I...I can't accept this..." She said, putting the sword into its holder and handing it back._

_But, Anton only shook his head, his old, weathered hands wrapping around hers. "I have no use for it. Besides, Sophia would want you to have it, Katia. Please."_

_Katia hesitated, but slowly nodded her head. "Okay. Thank you, grandfather." she whispered, tying the sheath around her waist. Another crashing sound, this time with added shouts and footsteps. They were inside and would be there very soon. Anton had his sword ready and Katia pulled hers out, doing the same. She wasn't going to just sit here and do nothing. She had to help._

_Seconds passed and the house fell into an eerie silence. Then the door to the study burst down, smoke flowing into the room. Katia could hear crackling and she knew they'd set the house on fire. She braced herself though, waiting...waiting...and she wasn't disappointed._

_Out of the shadow came a familiar top hat, though, the person wearing the top hat wasn't the same person she'd met those few years back. He'd changed. She could tell just by the way he was grinning maniacally. He took a few steps in and stopped, pulling his own rapier out._

_"Anton," the Professor's voice, which had been kind and gentle the last time she'd seen him, was now shrill, a hint of madness lining his voice. "I challenge you to a duel. A one on one battle."_

_Katia's eyes widened. "Grandfather, no!" __But Anton only pushed her behind him, his grip tightening on the hilt of his blade. _

_"Very well. But, in exchange, my granddaughter stays out of this."_

_Layton smirked. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we? I can't guarantee she won't get hurt. That is, if she doesn't stay out of the way."_

_Anton grinded his teeth before lunging at the Professor, his sword hitting against Layton's, who easily blocked it and sent a sideways thrust at the old man. Anton sidestepped slightly, the sword barely missing his left side._

_The fight continued on like this, the two of them going back and forth, moving about the room, almost as if dancing. But Katia could only watch on in horror. And her fear grew to frightening levels when a gasp came from her grandfather._

_Layton's sword had managed to deflect Anton's rapier out of his hands and stabbed him in the chest, his own black and, now bloodied, rapier sticking out from the other side. Layton swiftly pulled it back out, Anton falling to the floor. The evil Professor then put his sword to his mouth, licking the blood off before moving towards Katia, who slowly started to back away._

_"You're next, my dear." Layton purred evilly, his eyes blood thirsty._

_Katia knew there was only one thing she could do at this point. She sent one last look to her grandfather, giving him a silent farewell, before she sheathed her sword, turned, and ran towards the window, crashing into the glass and landing onto the ground on the other side._

_She pushed herself up, ignoring the cuts and glass that were stuck to her hands and legs, and took off running away from the house, heading towards the fires that were consuming the small farm town._

_She kept running, tears falling down her face as she passed the dead bodies of the people she knew and loved, all of them scattered down the streets of Dropstone. She didn't know where to go. She was too afraid to go to the train station, in fear of what lie in wait for her there, but where else could she go?_

_"Boys! There's another one! Get her!" A male's voice yelled out from behind her, causing her to immediately run faster. But, she soon came to a dead end. She slowly turned around, about five men filing into the alley after her._

_She nervously pulled her new sword out of its sheath, holding it shakily in front of her. She'd only fenced a few times in her life and it was always against one person. Did she really stand a chance against five? She'd just have to find out._

_The five rushed at her all at once, not giving her very much time to react. She swung the blade out in front of her a few times and she heard a thud, indicating one of the men had fallen. But she was soon overcome by the others, the biggest one pinning her up against the wall of the building that was to the left of her._

_"Well, boys. What do you say we have a little 'fun' before we finish the job, shall we?" The biggest brute said, laughing along with the other men._

_Katia's eyes widened in terror as she started to struggle. "No, please! No!"_

_"Hey!"_

_All of the men stopped mid-laugh and turned their heads to the entrance to the alley, where a young man in blue stood with a rapier in his hand. The teen was glaring at them, his grip tight on the handle of the sword._

_"Don't you know it's not very gentlemanly to go around treating a girl like that? Leave her alone!" The young man raced in, the other men not even given the chance to defend themselves as he cut down each one. Soon, him and Katia were the only ones left standing._

_The young man sighed, barely having time to put his sword away when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck._

_"Thank you..." the girl whispered into his ear._

_The young man was stunned at first, but eventually wrapped his arms around her too, returning the embrace she'd given him. "You're welcome." He pulled back after that and started to lead her away from the alley, helping her get over the bodies of the goons that'd attacked her. "Come on, let's get you to safety."_

_Katia nodded, immediately trusting this boy. She could feel it. A sense of justice seemed to emanate off of him. He wasn't going to hurt her. But...just who was he? "Could you tell me your name first?"_

_The young man smiled, his smile being one of the most wonderfulest smiles she'd ever seen. "My name is Clive."_

_Katia smiled. Clive. What a nice name. "My name's Katia."_

_Clive smiled wider. "Well, it's nice to meet such a beautiful young woman such as yourself, Miss Katia." He said, his charm working on full blast as he pulled her hand into a kiss._

_Maybe everything would be okay after all. As long as Clive was there with her._

* * *

"Anton died protecting Katia, making sure she got away safely. Us members of the Resistance had followed Layton wherever he went on his raids and we helped whoever we could. As for Montdol, only two people survived the raid from there. Lando Ascad and Henry Redoll."

* * *

_Lando hugged his wife close to him, ruffling her pale blond hair in his hand. She was crying softly into his chest, the sounds of battle outside of their home putting a fear into her like she'd never felt before.__Henry stood by the window, keeping a close eye on what was happening outside. _

_"Sharon, it's alright. I promise you, I'll keep you safe, my love." Lando said softly into her ear, helping to soothe her fears a little bit._

_"Lando, you might want to have a look at this..." Henry said shakily, his body tense as he looked out._

_Lando raised an eyebrow, but nodded, kissing Sharon on the forehead before letting her go and walking towards where his friend was. Henry made room for him by the window, allowing Lando to see outside, the colorful city all aflame. And, walking up towards the mansion, with a group of men behind him, was Hershel Layton, Lando's best friend._

_Lando felt himself relax a bit. Surely Hershel had come to help them out with this, right? But, as he kept looking on, his eyes widened in disbelief. Hershel wasn't acting right...the way he held himself, the way his eyes gleamed in the firelight...none of it felt right. Lando narrowed his eyes beneath his thick glasses._

_"How can this be? He..." Lando shook his head. "What has happened to him?"_

_Sharon came up behind him, her hand reaching for his shoulder. "What has happened to who?"_

_Lando swiftly turned around, grabbing her shoulders. "Sharon, we need to leave. Now!" _

_S__haron's eyes widened. "Why? Lando, just _what_ is going on?"_

_Henry turned and faced Sharon as well, all the while the small army drawing nearer to the house. "Sharon, Lando's right. We need to leave. It's too dangerous here."_

_Sharon looked back and forth between her dear friend and her husband, both of which were begging with their eyes to not ask too many questions and to just go with it. She sighed and nodded. "Alright, let's go."_

_Lando nodded again, determination filling his features. Whatever was going on with Hershel, he'd figure it out. But, he'd do it after Henry and Sharon were both safe. He didn't want to lose either of them._

_A thought occurred to him though, which led to him dashing out of the room, Henry and Sharon both calling out to him, telling him to wait up. But, he kept running until he made it to his and Sharon's room._

_There, up on the mantle. That's where he'd put it. Lando smirked slightly as he pulled the fencing sword down from its place, the hilt fitting just right in his hands. _Now_ he was ready. He tied the scabbard to his waist, the silver rapier hanging limply on his side._

_Walking briskly back out of the room, he met back up with Henry and Sharon and led them downstairs, the front door shuddering slightly as the men outside started to bang on it, trying to get in. Sharon grabbed hold of Lando fearfully, who held her tightly in his arms as he pulled her to a side hallway out of sight of the door, Henry right behind him._

_Not a moment sooner, the door burst open and bullets came flying inside, hitting everything in the room before the doorway. Lando pulled Sharon and Henry down, to help keep them out of sight and to not be hit as a few bullets made their way into the hallway. When the bullets stopped, Lando pulled the two of them up and ran._

_Meanwhile, Hershel Layton walked into the mansion, stepping between his men who had parted before him. He analyzed the surrounding area and, when he didn't see the bodies of those he'd wished to see, he turned to his commanding officer, a young woman dressed in a dark, blood red dress by the name Emmy Altava._

_"Find them and bring them to me." He ordered her. She bowed and turned to leave, motioning for her men to follow her. "Oh, and make _sure_ they're alive, my dear. You know how I love a good kill."_

_The woman smirked as she directed her men to the various hallways, she herself and a few others going down the one where the Masters of the house had gone only earlier. She'd do whatever it took to find them. Her master had told her not to kill them, but who said she couldn't have a little fun with them before she brought them back?_

_Back with Lando and the others, they were all resting against the walls of one of the many hallways in the mansion, having lost their breath when they ran. But, hopefully they were far enough away to be safe for the time being._

_"I...I think we'll be okay for a minute, right?" Henry asked, panting._

_Lando shook his head, the gears in his mind turning quickly as he tried to figure out where to go from there. "No, we're not out of the woods yet."_

_Sharon looked to him, her features slightly angry. "Okay, _now_ will you tell me exactly what's going on? Just who is attacking the town? Who's invaded our home?"_

_"I believe I can answer that."_

_Their heads shot up, Emmy and her men at the other end of the hall. She started to walk towards them, an evil smirk twitching onto her lips. "Heh. It's been _far_ too long, wouldn't you agree?" "_

_E...Emmy?" Sharon took a small step forward, only for Lando to leap in front of her protectively, his rapier held in a defensive position._

_"Don't come any closer, Emmy." He growled fiercely. He wasn't going to let them hurt his love and his friend. But Emmy only smirked wider before running towards him at a lightning fast speed, her foot meeting Lando's hand, knocking the rapier away to Henry's feet. Another kick sent Lando falling to the ground, clutching his face in pain, His glasses cracked slightly._

_Henry slowly reached down and picked up the fallen rapier as the men started to advance on him and Sharon, both of their eyes widening in fear. "Henry, Sharon, run! Don't worry about me!" Lando cried out before Emmy kicked him again, making him groan out in pain._

_Henry grimaced, but turned, running down the hall, Sharon's hand being pulled by his. A cry from Sharon, followed by a tug made Henry lose his grip on her though. He turned, starting to swing the rapier in his hand, but stopped short when he saw that Sharon was being used as a shield by the goon who held her. A blow to the head soon knocked Henry unconscious, much to the trepidation of his companions._

_Strong arms lifted Lando to his feet, restraining him from escaping. Sharon was brought over to them, struggling in her captor's arms, Henry being dragged along behind her by another, more broad-shouldered man._

_Lando glared angrily as Emmy strode up to them, an evil gleam in her black eyes. She stood in front of Lando for a second, almost as if contemplating on what she should do next before punching him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him._

_She chuckled,bending down to pick up the fallen rapier and motioning for the men to follow her as she started back down the hallway. 'Master is going to be pleased.'_

_Back at the entryway, Layton was pacing across the floor agitatedly. "What is taking so long?" he growled out. He hated waiting. He absolutely abhored it. He shook his head and swore under his breath as he continued to pace._

_Fortunately for him though, he didn't have to wait too much longer, Emmy calling out to him as she led her men forward, the ones he'd been searching for in their grasps. Layton felt a smirk creep up onto his face as Emmy's men stopped in front of him, his former best friend glaring back at him and Sharon gazing at him fearfully. 'Good. She should be scared.'_

_"What has happened to you, Hershel? ! Why are you doing this? !" Lando cried out, desperation filling his voice._

_Layton sighed dramatically. "Do I really need a reason 'why', Lando?" The former Professor chuckled. He turned his head to the man holding Sharon. "Bring her to me."_

_Lando's eyes widened in panic. "What? ! No!" he cried out, struggling to get out of the grasp of his captor all the more. But, it did him no good. The man brought Sharon forward, forcing her to her knees as Emmy handed Layton Lando's rapier, who in turn pointed it towards Sharon's throat._

_"Any last words, my dear?" Layton purred almost alluringly._

_Sharon closed her eyes, her head down. But, she brought it back up, her eyes blazing. "Yes. I do have a few. You won't win, Hershel. I don't know what turned you like this, but I can promise you. Whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, it won't work. It will all crash and burn for you and then you'll be left with nothing." She turned her head slightly, looking to Lando. "Lando...stay strong, my love. I'll always be with you." She whispered._

_"Hmph. Such strong words for someone who was so weak only moments before." Layton mused, his eyes showing amusement. He shrugged though, baring his teeth in an evil smirk, his monocle reflecting the light in the room as he slashed the rapier across Sharon's neck._

_Lando's eyes widened again, only, this time, in despair. "N...no...Sharon..." Lando could feel the fight in him dying as she slowly fell to the floor, her eyes dimming as her life's fluid poured out in spurts. He wailed out in heartbreak, his voice echoing throughout the whole of the mansion as tears spilled down his cheeks._

_At this moment, Henry started to regain consciousness, groaning as he opened his eyes. But, when he opened them, he wished he hadn't. He could barely take in the scene before him, his usually strong friend broken down, Sharon lying on the marble floor in a pool of her own blood and Layton chuckling insanely. "Sharon..." he choked out, tears starting to flow down his own cheeks._

_Layton grinned as he went forward, stepping over Sharon's body, ready to move on to his next victim. But stopped, his eyes traveling to the shadows dangerously. Not a second later, smoke burst around the room, blinding everyone. Layton could hear Emmy fighting something to the right of him, but the blackness of the smoke made it too hard to see who. Soon though, a knife came in contact with his hand, forcing him to drop the sword as he clutched his now bloodied-up hand. He growled angrily, trying to see who it was and, finally, was able to see the outline of what looked like a tall, black being with a beak. 'Black Ravens!' He thought._

_Then, as soon as it had started, it ended, the smoke clearing out of the room, his captives nowhere in sight, a panting Emmy to his right, and several knocked out thugs in front of him. He growled again. "Those Black Ravens will pay!"_

_Outside of the mansion, a group of eight strangely clothed people had their hold on Lando and Henry, though their intentions were far more pure than the former gentleman that had invaded Montdol. The Ravens holding onto Henry let him go, much to his relief. The ones holding onto Lando though kept their hold on him slightly, sure that if they didn't, he'd fall over and wouldn't have the will to get up again._

_One of the Ravens lifted his mask, revealing Crow to be underneath. "Are you two alright?" He asked in his thick accent, concern edging his voice._

_All Lando could do was shake his head, though Henry, on the other hand, responded with a very reluctant "Yes"._

_Another Raven stepped out to Lando, holding out their hands, which held his rapier. "I managed to get this back for you." The voice was clearly Louis', though Lando didn't know this at the time._

_He only nodded slowly, his body automatically moving and putting the blade into the scabbard on his side. It seemed that when Sharon died, a large part of him died with her._

_Crow turned his head back to the mansion before motioning for everyone to follow him. "Come on. We need to leave here while we still have a chance." They all nodded, no words being shared between them._

* * *

- "But not Sharon." Luke mentioned sadly. "Lando must've been crushed when she didn't make it."

Clive nodded in agreement. "He was. When we got everyone back to the base, Lando immediately went to where we'd assigned his room and he didn't come out for days. But finally, one day, he came out and he looked furious." Clive's eyes narrowed. "He swore he'd kill Layton for what he did to Sharon. For, you see," Clive turned to Luke, looking him in the eyes. "Layton was the one who killed Sharon. And he did it right in front of him."

Luke choked on his breath, coughing and trying to get air back in. Clive's eyes widened in panic and he slapped Luke on the back a few times, trying to help his lungs to unlock themselves. It took a minute, but Luke was finally able to calm down enough to breath normally again.

"I...I can't believe...oh gosh...poor Lando...and...poor London...the Professor..._oh God_..." With this, Luke burst into tears, the heaviness of the news too much for him to take. Clive wrapped his arm around him, pulling him into a hug as Luke started sobbing into his shirt. He knew that it would be too much for the fourteen year old to take, but he never thought it would be this bad. There was nothing he could say to make the boy feel better, nothing that would be the truth, that is. The situation was really this bad and there were no words of comfort he could use.

So, he only rubbed Luke's back as he held him, hoping the boy's tears would allow him to fall asleep. In times like this, sleep was the only kind of escape the body could take. Clive could only hope that escape could come soon, for both of them.

* * *

**RML: SQUEEEEEEEE! *is running around the room, despite how late the hour is* **

**Clive: Oo Uh...RML...Wha...what is...? **

**RML: PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE MIRACLE MASK RELEASE MONTH HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED IN THE US! SQUEEEEEEEEE! **

**Lando: *walks in* What is with all the yelling? **

**RML: LANDO! *Glomps* **

**Lando: AH! Help! Clive! **

**Clive: Er...RML, you do know you're supposed to be working on the Authoress Note, right? **

**RML: *eyes widen* Oh, you're right! *gets off of Lando* Sorry... **

**Lando: *brushes self off* Eh. It's alright. Just don't do it again. **

**RML: Promise. Anyways, as you can probably tell, I just found out about the release month for Miracle Mask tonight and it's got me _very_ excited. Btw, the release month is November! :D And the english trailer for the game can be seen here: watch?v=w0AI_G41ygM **

**Lando: Oh, and, did you hear? **

**RML: *quirks eyebrow* About what? **

**Lando: *sweatdrops* About my name change. **

**RML: Oh Yeah! :/ I am not happy about the name change! **

**Clive: Why? I think the name Randall suits him pretty well. **

**RML: Uh, yeah. It would. If it wasn't the same name as my dad! Do you know how _awkward_ it is to have a crush on someone who has the same name as one of your parents? **

**Lando: You have a crush on me? **

**RML: Fangirl crush. Duh. **

**Clive: Hey! I thought _I_ was your fangirl crush. *pouts* **

**RML: *pats Clive's shoulder* Don't worry. You still are! I have a lot of fangirl crushes. But, anyways, now to get on topic of the story. **

**Clive: *looks at word count* Oh dear...over 10000 words for one chapter? I think this is a new personal best for you, RML. **

**RML: Hmm...Yeah, I think you're right. So, anyways, you can probably tell that I was writing for characters that I know literally almost nothing about, period. But, it was admittedly a lot of fun. I especially loved writing the Black Ravens flashback. It's awakened a love for the Black Ravens I didn't think I'd end up having...speaking of which...*turns to door* CROW! GET IN HERE! **

**Crow: *pokes head in* What? I'm kind of busy trying to keep Socket from tearing apart your gaming systems right now. Do you need something? **

**RML: *Eyes widen before growling and grabbing Authoress Flamethrower* Crow...Take care of the disclaimer while I go take care of Socket...*stalks out of room angrily* **

**Crow: Er... **

**Crow, Clive, Lando: *hear screams and begs of mercy from living room before facepalming* **

**Clive: Oh geeze. Socket's probably going to end up in the ER for awhile. **

**Crow: *shrugs* He'll be fine next chapter. Just you wait. Anyway, RML doesn't own me, the Black Ravens, Lando, Clive, or anyone else used in this story. She only owns the story and the writing. Oh, and herself. She also doesn't own Miracle Mask, Last Specter, or Diabolical Box, which all were mentioned in the flashbacks. **

**Clive: Also, just for quick reference, Luke didn't see the flashbacks and I didn't tell him in detail. They were written for your reading pleasure so you may see in-depth what happened. **

**Lando: And another thing. RML took the time to find theme songs for specific people, as well as a theme for this specific chapter, which the chapter is named after the song. Here's the list so you may know and go listen to them yourself. **

**Chapter 1 Theme: Angels by Within Temptation**

**Chapter 2 Theme: Our Solemn Hour by Within Temptation**

**Lando's Theme: Shot in the Dark by Within Temptation **

**Luke's Theme: Lost by Within Temptation **

**Layton's Theme: Deciever of Fools by Within Temptation **

**Emmy's Theme: In the Middle of the Night by Within Temptation **

**Katia's Theme: Sounds of Freedom by Within Temptation **

**Clive's Theme: Stand My Ground by Within Temptation **

**Resistance Theme: See Who I Am by Within Temptation **

**Crow: Oo Wow...obsession with Within Temptation much? **

**Clive: *shrugs* I think her logic was that their music has a dark enough tone for this story and each song's lyrics matchs each specific character and/or group/chapter. She might have another list later of other theme songs. She might not. You'll just have to wait and see. Anyways, this Authoress Note has run on for long enough and I think it's time to- **

**Socket: *opens door frantically before shutting and locking it behind him, his goggles all askew* Guys! You've got to help me! She's gone stark, raving MAD! **

**Clive: *rolls eyes* Tell us something we _don't_ know. **

**Socket: *looks to Crow* Crow! You'll help me, won't you? **

**Crow: *shakes head* No. Sorry, Socket. But you've brought this upon yourself and I'm not planning on getting on her bad side any time soon. **

**RML: *busts open door and proceeds to flamethrow Socket while shouting incoherent things* **

***Relax-O-Vision screen comes up, the Tea Music from Diabolical Box starts playing, semi-drowning out Socket's screams***

**[Edit 6/27/2012: Came back and decided to edit and fix what I could here as well, just in case I missed something like I had done in Chapter 1. Also decided to change what kind of wound Socket got, to help make things flow a little better.]**


	3. Utopia

Inside of the Towering Pagoda, Layton was pacing angrily back and forth across his office, his footsteps echoing mockingly. He'd failed to get back one of his subjects and, surely now, he was far into the Resistance's base, away from his grasp. This fact angered him greatly and, reaching one of his gloved hands out, he grabbed a heavy book up from off of his desk, throwing it across the room. The book thumped loudly against the door, which was just being opened as the book hit. And the person opening it was none other than Emmy Altava.

Emmy cringed back a tad before sauntering her way in, closing the door soundlessly behind her.

"Have you found him yet, Emmy?" Layton asked her. She shook her head, making Layton growl out.

Emmy kneeled down in front of him in shame. Her search for the boy had been fruitless, both him and the resistance member having disappeared into the night. "I'm sorry, Master. I wasn't able to find either of them." A swift smack to her face, but she didn't so much as flinch at this. She had deserved it.

"Were you able to find anything at all? !" Layton bellowed.

At this, Emmy nodded. "Yes, Master. I did manage to find one thing." She lifted up Luke's satchel, which he had dropped while he was escaping with Flora.

The sight of the bag made those analytical gears in Layton's mind to start turning. How could he use this to his advantage? His eyes brightened as he solved this rather advantageous 'puzzle'. Grinning, he took Emmy by the hand and lifted her to her feet, taking the satchel into his grasp.

"Yes...this will do nicely..." He went back to his desk, pulling a small device out of one of the drawers. He stuck the device to the inside of the front flap of the bag, the color of the device changing to the same shade as the bag's, the device perfectly camouflaged. He then handed it back to Emmy. "Take this back out to where you found it. And make sure it stays in a place where they can see it."

Emmy confusingly took the satchel back, putting it over her shoulder. "We're just going to give it to them? Just like that?"

Layton smirked mischievously at her. "My dear, I wouldn't dare just give it to them. No, that bag holds a little surprise that will lead us right to their base." He ushered her towards the door. "Now, go do as I say. I have to go take care of my beautiful 'daughter'."

* * *

Meanwhile, Flora was in the room they'd left her in at the top of the Pagoda. It had been her room while she'd been under Layton's control, just a few rooms down from his. Layton preferred for them to be close by so he could keep an eye on them.

Flora was sure that they'd left guards at her door, but, right now, her focus wasn't on the door, but on her window. She was looking out into the night, hoping, praying that Luke would be alright. As she was watching out, a dark shadow down by Chinatown's gate caught her attention. Two more shadows passed the gate, heading towards the Pagoda.

'I wonder who that could be...' Flora thought, her eyes following the shadows as they got closer. Her eyes widened as the shadows leapt up over the gate leading to the Towering Pagoda. They were heading towards here. It was then she lost sight of them. She frantically searched for them, hoping that they were alright. She felt that they were there to help her. She could only hope so.

As Flora stood by the window, a shadow crept up behind her, the person's hands reaching out for her. Next thing Flora knew, the hands were over her mouth, preventing her from screaming.

"Hello, my dear Flora." Layton whispered maliciously into her ear.

* * *

Outside the Pagoda, up on the rooftops in the shadows, three Black Ravens stood, one of them watching with a pair of binoculars. One of the ones not looking lifted his mask, revealing Lando underneath, a large bruise on his cheek and over part of his eye.

He'd started following after the men who'd taken Flora, but, right when he was about to confront the men, Emmy had jumped in front of him, preventing him from getting to them. The two of them had fought just long enough for the men to get Flora past the gate to the Pagoda. That was how he'd gotten the bruise, when Emmy had kicked him face-first into a wall before she ran.

That was when he'd ran back to the Resistance base and asked if Crow and Badger could help him get in. The two had agreed and, thus, the three of them were out here, trying to see if there was a way to get into Flora's room at the top of the Pagoda.

"Do you see anything yet, Crow?" Lando asked the teenager. Crow shook his head. His mask had already been taken off when he started to look through the eye pieces, so Lando was able to see the frown on his face.

"Nothing yet. Are you sure they put her in there?" He asked skeptically.

Badger nodded, taking his mask off as well. "I saw her looking out of her window when we jumped up here. I think she may have saw us coming in."

Crow's frown deepened. "Then why can't we see her now?"

Lando looked back to the window. He had a very bad feeling about this. "I think we may need to get higher."

"We can't!" Crow exclaimed. "If we do, they'll be able to see us."

Lando shook his head. "Do you have any better ideas? We need to know what is going on in there. It's vital that we see inside of that room."

"He has a point, Crow." Badger piped up. "Besides, as long as we stay in the shadows, we should be fine."

Crow looked back and forth at the two before sighing, shaking his head in defeat. "Alright, we'll go a little higher. But, if they see us, we leave, no questions asked."

Lando nodded. "Fair enough." He put his mask back on before he ran and jumped to a fire escape of a nearby building. "Now, come on. We don't have all night!"

Crow and Badger put their masks on as well and followed after Lando as he jumped higher and higher to the top of the building. The top was just high enough for them to see the inside of Flora's room and what they saw made them stop short.

They could faintly hear her whimpers as a man that they could only guess was Dimitri came closer to her and Layton, who was holding her down. Dimitri had a syringe with a strange yellowy-greenish liquid inside of it. Flora was struggling, trying to get out of Layton's arms, who had his hand over her mouth to prevent her from crying out. As Dimitri got closer, Layton pulled Flora's hair back, exposing her neck. When the syringe hit her there, she cried out before slumping over as the serum went into her body.

There was nothing that the three freedom fighters could do but stare as Layton carefully let her go as she slowly stood up again. Lando reached frantically for the binoculars, Crow handing them over to him, shocked at what he'd just seen. Lando brought the binoculars up just as Flora opened her eyes. They had gone dull, having turned black instead of the brown they'd been before. There was no emotion in them whatsoever.

They were too late. They'd lost Flora to him again and there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

The morning sun brought both relief and a curse. Relief because they could now make it the rest of the way to the base and, thus, to the Resistance. But, a curse because, as Luke was waking up from his restless slumber, the dull morning light brought the knowledge of everything back to him.

He'd cried all of his tears the night before, but it was still hard for him to grasp. 'What am I going to do? After hearing all of that, I'm not even sure if the Professor can be brought back from his madness like I'd hoped.'

"Urgh..." Clive groaned as he awoke beside Luke, his back sore from having slept against the hardwood bookcase.

"Morning, Clive." Luke whispered, his mind still wandering.

Clive looked over to him and ruffled his hair a little bit before standing and stretching. "How are you this morning, Little Luke?"

Luke gazed up at him, before looking to his hands, seeing the cuts he'd gotten the night before closed up. "Well, I'm alive...if that counts for anything."

Clive frowned a little, kneeling down by the boy. "Luke, I'm sorry."

Luke shook his head though, pulling himself up to his feet. "Don't be, Clive. There's nothing we can do to change the past. We can only go forward from here."

Clive nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Well then. Are you ready to meet the Resistance today?" He asked, smiling.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

When they stepped out of the old library, they were greeted with warmth from the sun. It was one of those rare days when the sunlight was able to peek out from the ever-cloudy sky. It made the two of them sigh in relaxation. It felt good. Well, it did, until they heard shouting from the right of them.

They turned their heads, only to jump back when a gunshot landed in front of them.

"Run!" Clive shouted, grabbing Luke by the arm and pulling him down the street, the Family behind them. It hadn't occurred to the older teen that the Family would still be looking for them. Well, now he was paying for that. He cursed fiercely when a bullet whizzed past him.

He pulled Luke down a side alley, pushing him up against the wall before he opened a manhole, leading down into the depths of the city. Clive grabbed for Luke again, pulling him onto his back as he started to climb down, the manhole cover going back over the hole just as the Family rounded the corner.

The two of them stayed silent, watching the men through the small holes in the manhole above them. They didn't even breath in fear that they would hear. It felt like hours, but the men finally left, the two teens letting out the air they'd been holding in.

"That was too close." Luke said, relieved, but still on edge.

Clive nodded in agreement. "You've got that right. Luckily enough, I knew where we were going, so we're actually not too far from the Resistance's base."

Luke crinkled his nose. "You mean, their base is down here? In the sewer?" For that was where they were. A small river of sewer water was to the right of them, flowing towards the outside of London. The scent of it made Luke gag a little bit. It was awful.

"Well, not exactly." Clive said, smirking as he started down the side pathway of the sewer. "Just hold on. It's a bit farther in."

Well, a bit farther in turned into about seven miles, Clive having been walking for hours. Luke had fallen back asleep on his back and Clive had just about had enough of it. Finally, he stopped, letting go of Luke's legs, which he'd been holding up to help support the boy on his back. Luke landed onto the ground with a hard thump, followed by a yelp of pain.

"Ow! Clive! What the heck? !"

"Sorry, Luke. But, we're almost there."

Luke huffed, crossing his arms. "Well, you didn't have to drop me!"

Clive turned, glaring at him. "Look, it was either you dropped or I did from having to carry you around for these past several hours. So just deal with it!"

Luke rolled his eyes, pushing himself up and dusting himself off. "Yeah, whatever."

Clive groaned in frustration, but led the boy down a little farther before stopping. He felt Luke collide with his backside and heard the thump, meaning that Luke had ran into him. 'Expect an outburst from Luke in three...two...one...'

"Hey! What's the big idea, huh? ! Why'd you stop?"

'Right on cue there, Luke...' "We're here."

Luke looked around, confused. "Here? What do you mean here? There isn't anything here!"

Clive rolled his eyes. "Watch this." With that, he put his hand out onto the wall, feeling it up, trying to find what he was looking for.

Luke was tapping his foot behind him impatiently, but his mouth fell agape when a "Aha!" came from Clive, the wall sliding back and to the side, revealing a passage that lead a little deeper down. Luke stared at the hidden passageway in awe, but quickly shook himself and took off after Clive, who'd started to leave him behind.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Clive turned and sighed in aggravation, but waited anyway. When Luke got to his side, the hidden door slid back into place, leaving them with no way to go but forward. Clive lead the way, Luke following behind him warily. The hallway was long and dimly lit, lights connecting to the walls giving off just enough illumination to help light the way. Soon, they come across a door, a puzzle built into it.

Luke groaned. He remembered these kinds of puzzles. They were the ones where you had to move a ball from one side onto the other while moving around different blocks to make the path for the ball. They were quite annoying and time consuming. But, Clive stepped forward, a smirk on his face.

"Watch, Luke. Because this is the only way you'll be able to get into the base is by doing this puzzle."

Luke raised an eyebrow. He knew how to do puzzles, so why was Clive telling him how to...oh...

Clive had reached his hand out and had pulled the ball from the puzzle out of its base, the metal, blue ball now in his hand. Then, walking back over to the other side of the door, he put the ball into a hole that dropped out onto the other side of the door. Moments after the ball went in, the door slide open, revealing a small, rectangular room.

Luke's eyes widened. It was a trick. They didn't have to do the slide puzzle at all! It was all a ruse to trick whoever saw it and didn't know any better. Though, now that he took a closer look at the slide puzzle, he realized that there was no way to be able to slide the panels enough to get the ball to its 'home' on the other side, no matter which way you did it.

Luke chuckled. It was actually a pretty clever scheme. It almost seemed like something the Black Ravens would come up with. Though, now that he thought about it, they probably had been the ones to think it up.

The thought made Luke smile. He was looking forward to seeing them again. In fact, he was looking forward to seeing everybody. So, when Clive motioned for Luke to enter inside, he happily obliged. Clive stepped in behind him and pushed a button, the door closing in front of them. Another button press and the room shot downwards.

It was a hidden elevator. Luke wondered...did it lead to where he thought it did? Well, there was only one way to find out. When the elevator slowed to a stop and the door opened, Luke rushed out, eager to see his new home.

Luke looked around himself in complete awe, taking in everything that he could. It was the underground, fake London that Clive had built, risen from the ashes, except it looked more like London before Layton had taken control. The fake Thames was still there, people sitting by the river and relaxing. Whole families walked past, a few of them a little wary of the new arrival to their sanctuary.

Everywhere he looked, he could see people talking, training, laughing, playing, and staring. Yep, people were staring as him and Clive walked out of the elevator, curiosity getting the best of them. But, Luke wasn't paying attention to the people staring at him, he was too busy taking in the surroundings. It was beautiful down here, the wreckage from when Clive's machine exploded nowhere in sight. There were trees and flowers growing everywhere. It made Luke visibly relax.

Luke had to wonder though. Where was everyone that he knew? Were they here? Luke tried to see if there was anyone that he recognized, but, everywhere he looked, all he saw were faces that were unknown to him.

Just when he began to wonder if there would be anyone he knew, he heard his name being called out, followed by footsteps. Luke turned to his left and saw the familiar faces of Wren, Socket, Marilyn, Nabby, Louis, Scraps, and Tweeds running up to him. Before he could even think to brace for impact, they all jumped at him, pulling him into a hug.

Clive was laughing hysterically as Luke struggled to get out of the Black Ravens grasps. They'd been anticipating his return the most, having known him longer than anyone else. He finally decided to walk up to the hugging dog pile, breaking up the 'welcome' party and pulling Luke to his feet. He looked a little dizzy, which only caused Clive to laugh again.

"Luke, we're so glad you're okay!" Marilyn cried excitedly.

"We were wondering if you were going to make it or not." Louis said, stepping up and patting Luke on the shoulder. "We were all worried about you."

"Well, hey! Let's celebrate tonight!" Socket yelled out happily, pumping his fist in the air, Wren nodding in agreement.

"To welcome home a friend who was held too long in the darkness." She smiled.

"I'll bring the candy!" Tweeds exclaimed, Nabby rolling his eyes.

"Is that seriously all you can think about, Tweeds?" He asked huffily.

Scraps stood, deep in thought. "We should probably go find a place to hold it at."

Before Luke could even get a word in, the members of the Black Ravens left, leaving him dumbfounded. He was silent for a few moments before he turned to Clive. "Wha...what the heck just happened?"

Clive just laughed again, grabbing Luke by the hand and leading him down a street. "They've been waiting a long time for you to get here. Everyone has."

Luke frowned. "You know, after being held under Layton's control for so long, I was sure that everyone would hate me." He turned his gaze to the ground, kicking a pebble down the street as he walked.

Clive stopped though, turning to the side and putting a hand on Luke's shoulder, making him turn his attention to him. "Luke, listen to me. Whatever happened before is in the past. None of what happened to you was your fault. There is not a single person here who holds anything against you. Do you understand?"

Luke nodded, even though he still looked upset. Clive just patted him on the head and stood up, leading the way forward.

"Cheer up, Luke. Everything will be fine. At least, for now."

Luke smiled softly before following after the young man. "So...where are we heading, Big Luke?"

Clive's eyes widened before he chuckled, taking Luke by the hand again. "We're going to see Katia. She's been getting you and Flora's rooms ready, as well as getting you two some new clothes."

Luke looked down at himself. It was a good thing he was getting new clothes. The clothes we was wearing didn't look like him at all. A black cape was draped over a red and white dress shirt, a black bow tie with a red jewel in the middle of it was around his neck. His blue newsboy cap had been traded in for a black one with red lining. Black shorts with red suspender straps, gray socks, and black shoes. Add them being bloody and torn from trying to escape...all in all, Luke was ready for some new clothes. For him, new clothes meant a new start.

Clive turned and pulled him into a tall, three-story building, rooms lining the walls with names on each door. Some of the names he knew, some he didn't. Clive stopped in front of one door, the name Katia Anderson on the nameplate at the top. He knocked a few times.

"Who is it?" A soft voice from the inside calling out.

"It's me, Katia. May I come in?" Clive answered back.

"Heh. Someone didn't say the magic wo-o-ord!" A soft laugh came from inside as Clive groaned.

"Haha. Very funny, Katia. Now, can I please come in?" He asked, embarrassed.

"Oh...I don't know. Can you?" Luke and Clive could both hear the giggly sarcasm in her voice. Clive sighed.

"Katia, my darling, May I please come in?" He asked.

Luke raised an eyebrow. 'Darling?' he wondered.

"Yeah, sure. Just a minute." Katia answered in between giggles. A few seconds later, a click came from inside before the door opened, revealing Katia. Clive leaned forward and pulled her into a kiss, a deep one. Luke would have to ask Clive about his relationship with her later. Right now though, he was taking in her new look.

Luke was a bit surprised, to say the least. She looked so different from the last time he'd saw her that he could've almost swore it was a different person. Her purple hair was done up in an up-do, with her bangs hanging down and a little bit of excess hair framing her face. Around her neck was a pale pink scarf that flowed behind her when she moved, almost acting as a cape instead of a scarf. She was wearing a forest green tunic/dress...thing, with a black belt around her waist, a sword hanging loosely from the belt. The middle of the belt had a golden puzzle piece attached to it, almost like a buckle. White shorts with a green trim on them were adorning her legs and knee-high forest green boots with gold trim were on her feet. The one thing that was truly the same about her was the pearl necklace she had around her neck. If Luke remembered correctly, that necklace had been given to Katia by her late grandmother, Sophia.

The two finally broke from their kiss, panting a little bit. For awhile, they just looked into each other's eyes, both of them lost in them and to their thoughts.

Katia had been worried sick about Clive ever since the night before, when he said he would return. She'd told him to be careful, but, when Lando had come back for a few minutes without him, it'd scared her.

Since the invasion of her home in Dropstone, her and Clive had gotten closer and closer. It'd been almost love at first sight. He wasn't truly the gentleman he'd made himself out to be that fateful night, but he sure hadn't let her down yet. She loved him dearly and if anything happened to him, she didn't know what she would do.

Of course, being a part of the resistance made their relationship a lot more difficult, but they still managed to pull through...somehow. But, deep down inside of her, Katia had a feeling. A feeling that...something would push their relationship to the limit, something that would require them to trust each other to the fullest or face the direst of consequences. Call it a woman's intuition or whatever you like. But, whatever it was, it worried Katia all the more.

Clive was glad to be home. Katia was his home. Wherever Katia was, he was home. He felt at home in her arms. Feeling like he was home, where he belonged, it was something he'd yearned for for years.

When he'd lost his parents in that explosion twelve, almost thirteen years ago...that was when he'd started losing himself. His sense of home. His sense of friendship with others. His sense of sanity. After being pulled down from his insanity, he'd sworn to get his life back on track, to start over again. Katia had helped him through that, more than she knew. Just as long as she was there with him, he was okay.

He loved her...so much. He understood why Lando reacted the way he did when he lost Sharon. If it ever happened to him and Katia, he'd probably react the same way. But, if fate allowed, he wouldn't lose her...to anyone or anything. He'd protect her. Even if he hadn't been able to protect his parents, he would certainly protect Katia. No matter the costs.

Luke just stayed back, letting them have their moment together. As he watched though, his thoughts went to Flora. Was she okay? Had Layton gained control of her again? Or had she been able to escape after all? So many questions and, unknown to him, all of which would be answered soon.

He wanted Flora in his arms, safe. Luke had loved her for a long time, ever since he first saw her, he'd loved her. Of course, with them both living under the same roof for a long time, Luke couldn't exactly tell her without it becoming awkward between them. Though, now...he guessed age didn't really matter now.

So, when the mind control had wore off and they were both able to go about with their own free will, Luke had told her. And, apparently, she'd felt the same way. That just made Luke feel all the more worse though. So soon after they revealed their feelings and...now...they were so far apart. One safe and one not. But, Luke had told her he'd save her and he planned on doing just that. But, first...

"Ahem." Luke cleared his throat, breaking the two teens from their eye gazing, Katia's attention finally being put on him. She smiled broadly as she left Clive's arms and pulled Luke into a hug. She must've not noticed Luke there until right then.

"Luke. I'm so overjoyed that both you and Clive made it back safely." She said. She looked down at his face, smiling before she started to pull him away. "Come on, let me show you to your room. There, we'll get you some new clothes!"

Clive followed leisurely behind the two as they went, Katia's mouth almost going non-stop as she told Luke about different things about the Resistance he would need to know. Clive just chuckled. It wasn't very often that his girlfriend got like this, but, when she did, it would take him kissing her to make her stop. If he didn't or he wasn't around, she'd go on for hours.

Luke looked back to him, silently pleading for help as she continued to ramble on about his new room, new clothes, and how he was going to love it here. 'Help me, Clive! She won't shut up.' He'd been walking with Katia for only five minutes and, already, this trait of hers was starting to drive him crazy. Clive only shrugged his shoulders, grinning, much to Luke's chagrin.

It wasn't until they arrived at a room on the third floor that said Luke Triton at the top that Katia finally stopped rambling. Katia opened the door, leading the way in and twirling around in the middle of the room. "Well, here it is!"

Luke stepped in and looked around in satisfaction. The room was a fairly good size, a twin sized bed in the corner, a window looking out over the fake London. A bookshelf sat across from the bed and there was a chair and nightstand next to it with a lamp on it. A side door led to a personal bathroom, which had a shower, toilet, and sink, a blue hair brush, tooth brush, and soap container left on the counter for him.

There was also a dresser, which Katia strolled over, motioning for Luke to come over to her, which he did. Katia swiped his black hat off before pulling something out of the open, top drawer. A blue hat, the same exact shade that he used to wear. Luke smiled as tears came to his eyes.

"Tha...thank you...Katia..." Luke sniffled.

Katia smiled, patting his head. "Thank Clive. He's the one that found it. He searched everywhere for it. He had finally managed to find it out at the London dump while looking for supplies for our technology. We've kept it safe ever since, hoping you'd be able to wear it again one day."

Luke turned to the doorway, where Clive stood, leaning against the doorframe. "Thank you, Clive. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Clive flashed him a smile, standing straight. "Think nothing of it. We're just glad you're safe and sound." He motioned for Katia to follow him. "Luke, we're going to go downstairs and discuss a few things while you get changed, okay? Then we'll take you to meet everyone else."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Everyone? As in, everyone everyone?"

Katia laughed, shaking her head. "No, silly."

"Everyone, as in the other members of the Resistance." Clive chuckled out. "We'll see you downstairs."

Luke nodded as the two of them left, leaving him alone. He turned to the dresser, opening up the different drawers. "Now, let's see what we've got in here."

* * *

About thirty or so minutes later, Luke came out of his room, dressed, clean, and basically ready to go. He'd taken a desperately needed shower, brushed through his hair and teeth and then chosen himself a new outfit.

He was dressed in his usual light blue hat, a light blue capelet was draped around his shoulders, a dark, dark green waistcoat with a light gray undershirt lying partially hidden underneath and a light blue tie underneath the collar of his dress-shirt. Brown slacks and gray-brown shoes finished off his new look.

Luke looked at himself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. He looked older, more...mature in this. It looked partially like Clive's usual clothes, but was different enough to make it easier to tell them apart. He liked it a lot.

Grabbing the key that had been left on his dresser, with a note from Katia, saying it was the key to his room, he left, making sure to lock the door behind him before stashing the key in his pocket. He traveled down the few flights of stairs to the lobby only to see that Katia and Clive weren't there.

He heard a commotion outside and ran out the double doors, seeing a large group of people gathered around a few people in black. 'The Black Ravens!' Luke thought excitedly. That meant that Crow and Badger were back! He pushed his way through the crowd, apologizing all the way through.

When he got to the middle, he could see Clive, Katia, the three disguised Black Ravens, and one other person that Luke recognized. "Henry!" He shouted as he ran up to them.

The six people turned to the young teen, Clive smiling as Katia squealed with glee.

"Oh my goodness, Luke! You look so adorable in your new clothes!"

Luke blushed at this, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment as Katia kept ogling over him. "Er...uh...thanks, Katia..."

Behind Katia, the three Black Ravens took off their masks and lowered their hoods, revealing shocked looks on the three members of the Resistance underneath.

"L-Luke? !" Crow questioned unsurely.

Luke smiled and waved before he walked up to them. "Hey, guys. Miss me?" Luke laughed at the expressions on their faces. They were shocked. They had thought that, since Flora had been captured, that Luke had been as well.

"Y-yeah! We were worried..." Badger said quietly.

Luke smirked at them, his hands on his hips. "No need to worry about me, Badger." He winked. "I can take care of myself."

"Oh, can you now?" Clive asked him, coming up from behind Luke, leaning against Luke's head. "Because, last I checked, I was the one who had to save you when Layton was about to kill you."

"Y-yeah...well..." Luke stammered nervously. That was when a thought occurred to him. "Hey, guys...what were you doing out there anyhow? Were you on a reconnaissance mission or something?"

The three of them exchanged nervous glances before Lando sighed, running his hand through his messy red hair. He winced though when his hand touched his bruise. "We should probably go talk somewhere where there aren't as many people around."

Crow nodded solemnly. "Yes. We have some news for you all. And you're not going to like it."

* * *

"What do you mean Layton already has Flora under his control again? !" Clive cried angrily. He turned to Lando, who was sitting on a couch to the right of him. "It was your job to get her back, Lando! Why didn't you stop them? !"

They'd retired to a building which served as a place for the 'locals' to hang out at. They were all seated and none of them were very happy at the moment, though most of them were keeping their own thoughts to themselves. Crow was holding his head in his hands, Badger was trying to take deep breathes to help calm himself down, Henry and Katia were both watching the arguing that was happening before them, and Luke was trying to keep his tears from falling, but was failing miserably.

Lando kept his gaze to the floor as he answered. He was holding an ice pack to his face, the swelling from his bruise starting to go down a little. "I tried, Clive. I truly did. But Emmy attacked me before I could get to her and, by the time Crow, Badger, and I made it to where the Pagoda was, we were too late...I'm sorry."

Clive felt like he was about to pop a blood vessel, he was so furious. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Luke crying silently. It pained Clive to see him like this. Clive saw Luke as his little brother and, whenever Luke was upset, it would make Clive upset too. And this moment was no different.

"Sorry isn't good enough, Lando! She's under Layton's control now and it's all your fault!" Clive yelled.

Lando stood up, anger starting to rise up in him too. "Well, what do you expect me to do about it, Clive? ! We can't bring her back here when the serum is inside of her! It would jeopardize the safety of all the refugees here!" Lando's voice lowered dangerously. "You know as well as I do how disastrous that would be. Of course, then again, with what you did to London before, I wouldn't be too surprised if you didn't care."

Clive's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that, Lando?"

"I mean that you just might be crazy enough to actually do something like that!"

Clive jumped to his feet, his hands clenched into fists. "I'm not crazy!"

Finally, Katia couldn't take anymore of it. She grabbed a hold of Clive's arm just as he was about to swing it at Lando. "Clive, stop! Just...stop. You're both on the same side! You don't need to be fighting each other! It isn't worth it!"

Over by Lando, Henry was doing the same, holding Lando back as he struggled to get to Clive. The two of them had been about ready to rip each others throats out. "That's enough, Lando! Just...just..."

"Stop!" Henry and Katia shouted at the same time. The three younger members present were watching in shock. It rarely happened when tension started to rise up 'in the ranks' and it just surprised them to see two of their strongest members resort to fighting like children.

Clive and Lando had stopped struggling, but were both glaring intensely at the other.

"Okay, now you both need to say you're sorry." Katia said once they were starting to calm down quite a bit.

"Me? ! Apologize to him? ! He should be the one apologizing to me!" Clive and Lando both shouted at the same time, pointing at each other accusingly.

Crow stood up after they said this. "Alright, that's it. You two really need to stop. Arguing won't get us anywhere."

Luke nodded before he finally stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes. "He's right, you two. We all just need to...stay calm." That last part was almost more of him saying it to himself than to the others, but it still helped to do the trick, calming Lando and Clive enough so that Katia and Henry could let them go without them killing each other. "I'm sure we'll think of something." Luke frowned though. "I just wish I hadn't lost my satchel when Flora and I were escaping, then...maybe..."

Badger perked up at this. "You mean, this satchel?" He held up a brown bag, a small emblem on it with a newsboy cap and an L built in.

Luke's eyes widened, as well as just about everyone elses. Crow stepped up to Badger. "Badger, where did you find that?"

Badger chuckled nervously, his shaggy hair starting to soak with a bit of sweat. "Well, I guess you could say that I kind of ran into it as we were leaving the gate to the Pagoda. Literally...might I add. I didn't see it and it caused me to faceplant into the concrete." Badger rubbed his forehead beneath his hair. "It was...pretty painful..."

"Well, can I see it? !" Luke asked excitedly, which Badger happily obliged. He started rummaging through the main pocket of it, the front pocket being ignored for the time being. "If my journal is still in here...then we should be able to get into Layton's base unharmed."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

Luke looked up and smirked before rummaging through it a bit more. "You guys obviously didn't watch Flora and I long enough to know that I'd broken from the mind control a bit earlier than you realize. I worked on finding out as much as I could before I left. I made a few detailed maps of the base, which are all in my journal...which is...AHA!" Luke cried out as he pulled a brown journal, the same symbol from the satchel on the front of the book, only about six times bigger.

"Here it is. Inside of it is everything that I could find about the Towering Pagoda and Layton and his men." Luke said, handing the journal over to Clive, who, in turn, flipped through the pages, stopping on a specific page.

Clive chuckled a little bit before reading aloud. "Oh, how my heart yearns for you, my dear Flora! Your hair is as soft and breezy as the wind on my face, your eyes so full of life and vigor, oh, how I wish you were mine, my sweet and beautiful flower!" By now, Clive had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard, whereas Luke's face was tomato red.

"No, Clive! Stop! Not there! Don't read anymore!" Luke cried out embarrassingly, trying to grab the book out of the ex-convict's hands, who was holding it over his head and laughing.

Lando just watched this with a feeling of remorse inside of him. He remembered when him and Hershel had been like that, as close as brothers. He missed those high school days of his, the ones where Hershel was his best friend, when Sharon was always there for him. He missed beating Hershel at fencing and trying to convince him that Archaeology was the best thing in the world. But those days were just a distant memory now, a memory of a time long forgotten by the hands of fate.

The red head could feel a tear start to go down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away. The tear didn't go unnoticed though and everyone had stopped what they had been doing and were watching him now. He waved them off.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm fine." He whispered, heading towards the door, leaving the others confused behind him. "I'm going to go to my room for a bit. I'll...see you all later." With that, he walked out the door.

Everyone looked on, not entirely sure what had happened. Finally though, Henry made a move towards the door. "I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he gets to the meeting later, okay?"

Katia nodded numbly as Henry chased after Lando, worry etched across her face. She hoped they would be alright.

Clive had stopped with his antics while this happened, giving Luke the chance to grab his journal out of his hands, stuffing it back into his satchel, sighing in relief with the knowledge that his private writings would be safe...for now.

As he flipped the flap of the satchel back over, a small, brown...thing fell out, clattering softly onto the floor. Luke raised an eyebrow as he bent over, picking the small device up into his hands. "Huh? What's this?"

This broke everyone of their confusion, their attention turning to what Luke was holding. Clive reached out carefully and took it, looking it over carefully. "I...I'm not sure what this is..."

"Maybe you should have Paul look over it, Clive." Katia mentioned.

Clive nodded, stuffing the small device into his jacket pocket. "That's a good idea. I'll go do that." He turned to Katia, offering her his arm. "Would you like to accompany me, Katia?"

Katia giggled, kissing him on the cheek. "I would love to, my good sir."

Clive smiled, a small blush on his cheeks as he and Katia headed towards the door. "We'll see you all soon." He turned his head to Crow before going out. "Crow, why don't you help Luke choose a weapon to use? He's going to need something to protect himself with."

Crow nodded, putting his hand on Luke's shoulder. "Alright." He motioned for Badger and Luke to follow him. "Come on. Let's go see what we can find."

Luke followed after him, Badger taking a moment to grab the Black Ravens disguises and fold them, carrying them in his arms and chasing after the two.

"Wait up, you guys!" He yelled.

* * *

**Clive: I was wondering if you were going to show what was going on with Flora. **

**RML: Yeah. Apparently, so were some of the readers. Which was why I added that part in. I was originally going to have that part of the chapter be in the next chapter, towards the end. But, because of people asking about Flora, I decided to put that part in this one. So, now you know what's up with her. **

**Lando: *is holding ice pack to face* Did you have to have Emmy face-plant me into a _wall_? !**

**RML: *rolls eyes* I had to have _some_ way of making it so you couldn't get Flora! What else could I have done?**

**Lando: *pretends to think about it* Oh...I don't know...just about _anything else!_ **

**Crow: *walks in, soda in hand* Now, now, you two. Let's not argue. **

**Lando: *points accusingly* But she...**

**Crow: *glares at Lando* Are you an adult or not, Lando? Act your age. Please. **

**Lando: *sighs in defeat* _Fine_...**

**Crow: Anyway, Tweeds, Scraps, and Nabby were wondering if they could go have some ice cream from the Ice Cream truck down the street. **

**RML: *shrugs* I don't see why not. Here. *hands over a few dollars* That should be enough. Just tell them they owe me though, alright? **

**Crow: Yeah, sure thing. *smiles* I'll be back in a few minutes. **

**Clive: That's fine. We'll be here. *grumbles* How come they can get ice cream, but I can't?**

**RML: *overhears* Do you want to go get an ice cream too? **

**Clive: *jumps up excitedly* Boy, would I! :D **

**RML: *hands over a five-dollar bill* Don't go overboard. The only reason I've giving you a five is because I want you to get me one too. **

**Lando: And me!**

**RML: Oh, hold on a sec. CROW!**

**Crow: *comes back through door* You know, you don't need to shout. I was just coming back. **

**RML: *waves that off* Yeah, yeah. Do you want some ice cream?**

**Crow: Hmm...Well, I wouldn't mind having an ice cream sandwich...**

**RML: Alright then! Clive! You're on ice cream duty! Get Crow his ice cream sandwich, get me a Butterfinger bar and...Lando, what would you like? **

**Lando: I'd like a shaved ice myself. **

**RML: And get Lando a shaved ice! Now, hurry! I don't know if the ice cream man will stay much longer!**

**Clive: *rolls eyes* Yeah, yeah. I'll be back. *grumbles again* Why do _I_ get ice cream duty? Lazy people...*leaves***

**Crow: *turns to RML* So...just what _was_ that device that was in Luke's satchel, anyway?  
**

**RML: *smirks* I'm not telling. You'll just have to find out next chapter!  
**

**Lando: Wait...what are you two talking about? What device?  
**

**Crow: *shrugs* There was a device stuck to the inside of Luke's satchel. We found it after you left. BTW, are you alright?  
**

**Lando: *nods* Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed some time alone.  
**

**Crow: *nods in understanding* I see.  
**

**RML: ...So...disclaimer...Lando! You do it! I'm too tired to! *shoves disclaimer note in Lando's face***

**Lando: Uh...okay. RML doesn't own Professor Layton or any characters from said series. She only owns the story ideas and her writing...and herself. Yep, that's it.**

**Crow: Oh, and, people. _Please_ review. I can't stress this enough. RML gets very excited whenever she sees reviews, but she gets very scary when not very many come in. So, please. I beg of you, _review!_**

**RML: Oh, and, before I forget! Luke's new outfit design isn't mine! It belongs to SparksyChan on Deviantart. You can see the pic here: shadow- and- me- foreve. deviant art favourites/ ?offset=24# /d4l4mxo  
**

**Lando: Just take out the spaces. Katia's new design though _does_ belong to her, so...yeah. That's it then.  
**

**_CHAPTER THEME/Clive and Katia's Theme: Utopia by Within Temptation  
_**

**_Flora's Theme: Frozen by Within Temptation_**


End file.
